The Land Registry shows that house prices in Nottinghamshire rose 3.2 per cent in the year to this February. In the city it was even higher, at 3.9 per cent. (See graphic).

According to the Government, the average UK house price went up 6.8 per cent during the past year, driven by a 13.2 per cent increase in London. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 3.8 per cent over the year, putting the Nottinghamshire statistics just below average. Estate agents say that the disparity between supply and demand – with more people looking to buy than there are houses on the market – is causing the rise.

The Land Registry also shows that there was a 17 per cent rise in sales in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in 2013 when compared to 2012. (See graphic).

So now may well be the ideal time for Rob and Sarah to put their home, in Portland Road, on the market.

Rob said: "It looks like it could be a good time to be selling our home. The figures do suggest that."

In February, the average price of a house in Nottinghamshire was £122,231, up from £118,445 in the same month in 2013.

The average price in Nottingham was £86,000, up from £82,779 in the same period.

He said the agency had noticed a big rise in house prices across the board, adding: "Some areas are seeing a bigger increase than others. There is a lack of supply which is actually driving up those prices. In the middle sector the increases are most noticeable.

"The December, January and February times are generally difficult in the property markets, but now we are into spring we suddenly get the buyers coming.

"With the increased confidence in the economy and people having more money as well, I believe that prices will continue to go up. The only concern is with the level of supply and demand."

In 2012, 9,882 homes were sold in Nottinghamshire compared to 11,588 in 2013. Similarly, house sales in Nottingham increased from 2,498 to 2,933.

In the coming years, thousands more homes are to set to be built in the county, which will improve supply and should, experts say, limit price rises.

Among the developments are a £100 million development will see 450 homes built at Cotgrave Colliery, while there are plans for 600 on the site of the former Gedling Colliery.

Dan Bennett, associate director of Nottingham-based estate agents Chesterton Humberts, said that until those extra homes are available, the cost of the current housing stock will continue to go up.

He said: "We have seen the price of some properties going up, though not all at the rate suggested. The lack of new properties coming on to the market is certainly leading to increases in prices.

"There are certainly more buyers right now and less stock and this is pushing the prices up. As long as this trend continues, prices will rise.

"However, the situation as it is does not really help your first-time buyers. It is certainly not a good thing for them."

Improvements in the market have also been seen by the Nottingham Building Society. It has been reporting big leaps in mortgage lending, reaching levels last seen before the start of the financial crisis in the summer of 2007.

Chief executive David Marlow said: "We've been working hard to ensure we can continue to lend into the market and, as a mutual, we are not necessarily constrained in the same way as some other institutions."

The married mum-to-be said: "We had saved up a deposit over about five years because we wanted to get on the property ladder.

"Rather than renting and handing over money every month we wanted our savings to be invested. We were aware when we bought the house that the market was low and prices would probably go up – so we got in while we could.

"If we had left it any longer and prices went up we would either have needed a bigger deposit or had look at a cheaper property.

"I'm obviously really pleased if the house is worth more now.

"The mortgage payments are more than we were paying when we were renting but at least we will pay it off one day and have a house at the end."

ESTATE agents say Nottingham- shire still offers good value for money in the property market.

While prices have gone up 3.2 per cent in a year, the level of increase is still lower than other regions, especially the south-east.

In today's Nottingham Post Property, this home in Bestwood Village, complete with its own lake and woodland, is priced at £895,000.

Orchard House has it all, its current owner says, including a mammoth 13 acres of grounds.

The owner said: "Whether you want to take the boat out on the river or just sit in the sunshine and soak up the views, there is always something to do here.

"This is the kind of place you return home to, sit outside in the evening sun, and relax as all your stresses just melt away."

The house's extensive grounds not only encompass a section of the river and a mill pond, but also include an area of woodland and a six-acre field which is suitable for horses or other livestock to be grazed.

Yet more economic illiteracy from the Post. An increase from £170k to £245k in seven years represents growth at about 5.4% per annum. Not bad, but not exactly a killing if you've spent (say) 20 grand on an extension. "Rob said: "It looks like it could be a good time to be selling our home. The figures do suggest that."" The figures suggest completely the opposite Rob.

The prices are awful now (for buyers), how long before a correction in prices? Not much of a correction mind, as inflation will ensure that the numbers keep rising. A huge deposit and six times your salary is now not unheard of.

The Government is fuelling a boom at the moment using taxpayers' money and this is inflating prices. When this scheme stops the poor buyers will still have to keep paying the mortgage for the rest off their lives. At that point £150,000 extra (that is what it is with interest) for a kitchen extension on a small flat might seem more than it does now.